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Former AT&T exec to run Sprint's CDMA business

Sprint Nextel named former AT&T Mobility executive Robert Johnson as the president of its CDMA business. Johnson replaces John Garcia, who resigned from the position in November. Sprint said Johnson will join the company May 20.

Keith Cown has served as the interim president of the business since Garcia left. He will return to being Sprint's president of strategy and corporate development.

Johnson has a history of marketing and sales experience in the wireless industry. He recently served as the co-founder and COO of Sotto Wireless, based in Seattle. Before that, he served for 16 years as an executive at AT&T, including a stint as AT&T's executive vice president for marketing, sales and customer service functions. While at AT&T, Johnson managed the company's field operations, sales, marketing, advertising and customer service and retention. He has also worked for McCaw Cellular, Daniels & Associates and PageAmerica.

Sprint is trying to turn around its postpaid subscriber losses on its CDMA network. The carrier lost 1.25 million net postpaid subscribers in the first quarter, but added 764,000 prepaid customers through its Boost Mobile subsidiary, which runs on Sprint's iDEN network.